Ranking the Coaches on The SEC Hot Seat
This year was a weird year in the SEC, because only one coach was hired in the offseason, and that was the utterly polarizing, utterly dislikable Hugh Freeze by Auburn.
We mourned the loss of Mike Leach, but almost immediately DC Zach Arnett replaced him, and then got the permanent job.
So who’s job is under pressure in the SEC. We go from 1-12. You can predicted No.12 pretty easily. But if you didn’t, it’s Kirby Smart.
- Sam Pittman (Arkansas): The whole “Yessirrrrr!” thing has suddenly gotten old. The pass defense was one of the worst that Fayetteville has ever seen, and the Razorbacks went backwards from a 9-4 season to a 7-6 season, with a 3-5 SEC record. This included a loss to Missouri, who were pretty abysmal this year themselves. Add to that the transfer of the school’s best running back (Matt Landers) and its best TE (Trey Knox) and former 4-star OT Marcus Henderson, and things aren’t looking that rosy for Pittman.
- Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri): The whole spiel that Drinkwitz seems to go with is fun and games, but the Tigers were atrocious on offense (89th in the country for pts/game), as Drinkwitz steadfastly refused to start his best QB instead of the trainwreck known as Brady Cook. Missouri may have gone toe-to-toe with Georgia and pulled out 3 wins, but the 11-15 SEC record ain’t gonna work if they have another losing season.
- Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss): Lane Kiffin has been trying to get out of Oxford a while, anyway. He’s lost two in a row to Mississippi State, and can’t beat Alabama. His 14-10 SEC record isn’t exactly inspiring, and he’s lost 5 out of the last 6 games. He might well get pushed before he tries to leave, too.
- Billy Napier (Florida): Another 3-5 SEC season with a 6-7 record is simply not going to fly with Gator Nation. Napier’s need to have a better time offensively is bigger than anyone thinks. Plus, there’s the whole: “Well, he came from a small school and couldn’t handle the SEC” thing, too.
- Zach Arnett (Mississippi State): Cruel as it might sound to put Arnett in the Top 5 after the loss of Mike Leach, he’s also got a young OC in Kevin Barabay. We anticipate a Leachian offense, but if things go wrong, they could go very wrong – especially as Arnett is seen – as many people feel – as interim coach ANYWAY.
- Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M): The word ‘brutal’ doesn’t cover how bad Texas A&M was last year. The loss to Appalachian State looks a hell of a lot worse when you look at how bad the Mountaineers were at the end of the season. The quarterbacks were bad. The defensive play was bad. Kyle Field may have sold its tickets, but there were a lot of gray seats. Will Texas A&M fans be able to cope with another year of ignominy? I’m not sure they will. And they have the money to pay him off, too.
- Mark Stoops (Kentucky): Last season Stoops went from “Never-fireable” to “Actually, pretty fireable” with the debacle against Vanderbilt, the bad play of Chris Rodriguez, and the laughable quarterback play of Will Levis. Losing D-Lineman Justin Rogers in the portal to Florida – as well as a lot of depth – won’t do his PR any good either.
- Hugh Freeze (Auburn): The thing about Hugh Freeze is that controversy always follows that man, and he could get booted off The Plains as a result of his own actions (call girls, strippers, murder etc), rather than the football team’s.
- Josh Heupel (Tennessee): Vols fans should prepare themselves for a monster drop-off after the loss of Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, and OT Darnell Wright to the NFL, but they won’t, because it’s Tennessee. A steady stream of losses will put pressure on Heupel. A loss to Vanderbilt at the end of the season would create uproar.
- Shane Beamer (South Carolina): The excellent end to the season and the momentum afterwards should assure a lack of hot seat for Beamer. While the loss of edge rusher Jordan Burch to Oregon no doubt will sting, the arrival of Trey Knox from Arkansas gives Spencer Rattler another target.
- Brian Kelly (LSU): Kelly’s recruited well, and LSU’s the second ‘hottest’ team in the SEC right now. Kelly has proved he can recruit to Baton Rouge, too (his 2023 ranked 5th in the country and his transfer group ranked 6th). This may go to s**t in 2024, but right now, his behind ain’t tanning.
- Clark Lea (Vanderbilt): Lea seems to be building something here, and he’s widely liked. Also, Vanderbilt isn’t exactly the best job in college football, and we think the Commodores know that, too.
- Nick Saban (Alabama): He’ll retire before he’s booted
- Kirby Smart (Georgia): Nope.